Science & Spirituality
T. D. Singh recognized science and spirituality to be the two foremost influences of our time and understood them not to be the diametrically opposed disciplines they are often made out to be. Throughout his life he worked to provide examples that science and spirituality could be synthesized to form a new science, a new paradigm that could account for the origins, purpose and realities of our universe. As the International Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute for over 30 years, he extensively traveled the world lecturing, authored and edited numerous publications and organized many international conferences towards establishing this new paradigm.
The Foundation provides support to individuals and institutions that work to enhance dialogue between scientific and spiritual communities. By expanding dialogue we aim to continue T. D. Singh’s legacy of addressing questions of ultimate concern and reducing negative influences of ignorance, scientific reductionism and religious fanaticism.
“Modern science tries to be exclusively mechanistic. But mechanistic models are entirely dependent on our limited powers of sense perception. However, every honest and thoughtful person will agree the electron, just like God, has never been seen. Although the electron cannot be seen its nature and existence can be understood by its symptoms. These symptoms can be inferred from the electron's influence and interactions with observable energies. In the same way the spirit soul, or the Spiriton*, cannot be seen but its symptom consciousness can be perceived. Similarly, God can also be experienced if we look for the symptoms of his existence, for example; beauty, truthfulness, the intricate and mathematically perfect laws of nature, etc. Some of these are quantifiable such as the mathematical laws while others like beauty cannot be quantified or explained by rigorous scientific processes. But we all know that both of these groups do exist as a part of reality. Therefore, the conclusion is that realities exist beyond the boundaries of empirical observation.”
- T. D. Singh -
*Spiriton – a non-material particle, compulsory for the development of science’s newfound realities. Term branded by T. D. Singh.
Science and technology alone cannot solve the problems of the new millennium. We need additional guidelines for our actions, for the selection of our research projects and research goals. These guidelines have to do with ethics, with philosophy, and with faith.
Professor Richard R. Ernst, Nobel Laureate
In India, there is much more union between the two (science & spirituality) than there is in the West. I think that the Western scientists are coming back to that point of view – what the universe is all about. A few scientists are interested and their numbers are growing.
Professor Charles Townes, Nobel Laureate
I maintain that the human mystery is incredibly demeaned by reductionism, with its claim in promissory materialism to account eventually for all of the spiritual world in terms of patterns of neural activity.
Sir John Eccles, Nobel Laureate